Indentured Owens children - VA

Indentured Owens children - VA

I am reviewing a microfilm of early 1800s Law Books from the Library of Virginia. I wanted to verify partial transcriptions re: children of William Owens that were indentured. My hope was that I would find documentation for the parents of Reese, Rhody, Harden, & Nicholas Owens. Attached are the 3 entries that I found.

2 Whitely children are mentioned in the first record. The notes of a researcher of the Whitely family state their father was Joseph Whitely, Jr. Then their mother, Frances, married William Owens by 1818. The researcher's notes also state that Frances' maiden name was Frances or Franky Lee/Lea, dau. of William Lee.

I would like to prove or eliminate one of these theories about the parents of Reece/Reese/Reace Owens: That his parents were John & Martha "Patsy" Fugate ... or that his father was William Owens. The attachments are the only evidence I know of that point to William as a possible parent of Reese. I know the book by Verna Mae Slone states that John & Patsy were the parents of "Rhoda and Reace." Also, a family chart of Abisha Johnson shows John Owens as Reese's father, with a birth date of 1788. But I can find no other documentation.

I have a problem with the birth date for John and Rhoda & Reese if he was their father. John would have been abt 12 when Reese was born.

Any help on this out there?

Chris Owens

Attachments:

Re: Indentured Owens children - VA

hi Chris. I have many of the same questions. Have you seen the "Owens DNA site", where the question of Reese and William is currently being addresed? The web site shows an old photo of the Dickerson Co., VA 'homeplace' with a cabin that is almost identical to the 'Vince owens cabin' at the Hindman school.

Re: Indentured Owens children - VA

For whatever reason, there is an error when I try to see my old post so I only have a general idea of what I posted : (

I am pretty familiar with the Owens DNA site. It has created as more mysteries than it solved. But that's part of the charm of family history : ) More males descendants need to be tested to untangle the history!

I have little doubt that the Owens children who were indentured were all related. DNA results indicate they were not siblings. One possibility is male heirs related through maternal Owens lines (cousins?). For instance "double Owens" - two Owens lines marrying as is recorded more than once - and the descendant being tested has a maternal Owens link to this family. Adoption, formal or informal, or a son carrying his mother's maiden name.

From "implied" marriages, mostly land documents, it appears that William Owens did marry a Lea/Lee - Frances (Lea)Whitely at about the time he told the court he was able to again care for his 2 children. They moved to KY and had children - sometimes attributed to Reese. If we rely on the documentation, it appears unlikely that there was a Jenny/Virginia Lea/Lea marriage to Reese. Reese probably was not married to his first wife & she may well have been an Indian woman.

My husband grew up in Knott Co. and we have both visited the settlement school (Hindman) but we are unaware of a cabin known as the Vince Owens cabin. ?

I would gladly share any info that we have collected.

Chris

Re: Indentured Owens children - VA

Hi; What I am calling to "Vince Owens cabin" is the cabin donated by Verna Mae Slone. I've not seen it 'in situ', only from some wonderful photos recently emailed to me by the photographer, Jeri Henderson. The cabin dates back to early Caney Creek days; I believe it is the one she writes about in "What My Herat Wants to Tell", and I think Vince may have lived in it during his last years. I think it was built by one of her Slone ancestors (possibly one of Little Granny's sons.)Vince's son, Milton Owens, is my greatgrandfather. Three of Milton's sons are still alive, but we tend to run toward girls in my generation...all that coffee drinking, I guess. Only two out of my six male 1st-cousins are in the male line, but I'm going to see if I can talk one of them into participating. (Maybe if I offer to pay....)

Re: Indentured Owens children - VA

Hello Chris,I'm trying to find out information about Frances (Franky) Whiteley and William Owen. You seem to know some things about them. You mentioned they moved to Ky, and had children. Who were the children? Do you know when Frances died? Was she officially married to William Owens?Any help would be appreciated. ThanksSue Whiteley

Re: Indentured Owens children - VA

As for whether they were "officially" married. Probably so. Frankey (Frances) Lea Whitely was a widow. Is noted in "Virginia Ancestors & Descendants, Lee Families" - I believe land records indicated sale of land also but will have to look.

What I have shows Frankey had 3 children by her first husband, William:1. John Whitely, b. abt 18002. Mary "Polly" b. ab5 18043. Sarah b. abt 1808

Re: Indentured Owens children - VA

Chris,Thank you so much for answering my post. I tried to find the "Virginia Ancestors & Descendants, Lee Families", you mentioned and could not find it. I am a descendant of John Whiteley, son of Frances (Frankey) Lee/Lea.(who later married William Owens) In the beginning of this string of posts there were 3 attachments concerning indentured children. In 1808, there was another such document apparently (I haven't been able to access any of these, so I was so grateful that you posted the last 3 here) The first one states John & Polly were orphaned children of Joseph Whiteley Jr. Because there are a couple family trees on the internet saying Frankeys first husband was William, it has been very confusing, however, I am sure her first husband was indeed Joseph, not William. I realize you are an Owen, and our lines don't meet, but you are the first one to have information on Frances Lee/Whiteley/Owens (my gggg grandmother). I don't know if you have the access to the 1808 indentured children document or not, but that would be great. (It doesn't mention the Owen children though) Did you have any death date on Frances? Where did they move to in Ky? What happened to her first husband remains a mystery. Two well known books claim he lived on, and died elsewhere, but I believe he died, and that is why I inquired about Frankeys marriage to William Owens. Because only John and Polly were indentured, I have no information on the Sarah. Where did you find that? (by the way, John was born in 1802 according to our family records)Again, THANK YOU sooo much for answering my post. It has helped. Gratefully,Sue

Re: Indentured Owens children - VA

I will go re-post the records from the 1808 period (children bound out). They are copies of the Russell VA court records. I obtained the microfilm through inter-library loan.

There is some question as to which Lea/Lee was Frankey's first husband. I remember getting an email about that from a Family researcher.

I will go back and see if I have a record of where the LEA/LEE family history is located. My husband is a direct descendant of Reese/Reece Owens - as was Mona Lisa Owens Harrod who wrote about that line =: Footprints of an Owens Pioneer ... and included other related lines. I was fortunate to obtain a copy from her before her passing.

Mona went beyond oral history & researched the records in VA - corrected some oral history. When we caught up with one another, much of what she found matched what I found (like the court records on the children) and went beyond. I am so glad Mona listed her sources (and what is conjecture) and usually stated where she found the records.

Re: Indentured Owens children - VA

Sue, thank you for the posting re the Whiteley family! And, Chris, I have a small booklet of family anecdotes, written by Uncle Scott. Some is about Reese Owens. Sue, it's interesting to note the names "John" and "Polly", as these are traditionally the names we had for Reese's parents via family oral history.